What is the key to helping them open up? Patience and the recognition that participating is about the process, not about the product.  We don’t focus on the end result of the activity, but more on getting them to connect to any part of the process. If we try an activity one way and we don’t see engagement, we’ll try it in another way or we’ll try a completely different activity. We attempt to get participation in any way possible, no matter how small or if it doesn’t even relate to the project at all. We view success as any kind of connection that provides cognitive or physical stimulation.

Our Recreation Coordinator is so successful with the dementia population because she continuously tries different activities to see what works and what doesn’t. Ms. L. is a great example of this – she’s 86 years old, has moderate dementia and wasn’t interested in participating in most activities. Each time she attended, staff tried different types of activities to find out what might interest her.  Nothing seemed to work until one day staff gave her a newspaper. In the past she had difficulty reading, but when given the paper, she immediately started reading and going through it carefully. You could see the joy on her face. Not only was she reading the paper but she started commenting on the stories! It was amazing that staff found a totally new way to interact with her. We shared this with her family and they now get her a newspaper to read at home everyday. You never know what simple activity will spark someone’s interest, provide stimulation and improve their quality of life!

As a caregiver, if you’re trying an activity with a loved one and it doesn’t seem to be working at that moment, don’t give up hope. Let it go and try it again later. Try something else. You never know what’s going to work, but once you find something that connects and provides stimulation, your loved one will let you know!

What does the word “elder” mean to you?

• Boss
• Wise person
• Teacher
• Apostle
• Have loot
• A good neighbor
• Pastor
• Someone in charge
• Experienced
• Someone you respect

What are the gifts and contributions you make to our lives and world?

• Words of wisdom to live by
• Behave well
• Teach
• Ethics
• Good manners
• Strength
• Respect for others
• Affection
• Faith
• Honor
• Know right from wrong
• Know how to raise children
• Know how to LOVE

How would you or your loved ones answer these questions? Might be a great way to stimulate conversation with a special senior in your life…

Since the presentations, we have seen noticeable changes in behavior that are helping our members live safely at home. Before, many of our ladies were wearing high heels to the center. After hearing the falls prevention information from the CHOICE Rehab Consultants, they’re now all wearing sneakers or flat shoes to the center.

Not only did the seniors learn from the health education, but our Home Health Aides learned much about identifying risks in the home. Last week, when our HHA arrived at a member’s home for van pick-up, the member crawled to open the door. She had just fallen in her living room. Thankfully the member was not injured, but given the new falls prevention information, the HHA noticed many falls hazards around the home including long extension cords, loose rugs and phone cords, boxes in the hallway and pocketbooks on the floor. When the HHA reported the hazards, center staff immediately notified the member’s Nurse Consultant. The nurse and family are now working with the member to make safe pathways and reduce clutter in order to improve safety in the home.

Video: How To Prevent Trips and Falls In The Home

Last week when she arrived at our Adult Day Center, she appeared lethargic. Our staff spoke to her about the change in her condition, but she didn’t realize there was anything wrong. She showed staff a paper bag filled with medications and told them that she wasn’t sure how to take them. The Day Center staff immediately called Ms. N.’s VNSNY CHOICE Nurse Consultant. 

 On the afternoon that the phone call was placed, Ms N.’s Nurse Consultant visited her at home and worked with her family to set up her medications properly. Thanks to the coordination of care in the VNSNY CHOICE Managed Long Term Care Program, Ms. N. quickly returned to her energetic self, and her caregivers were grateful to have a system in place to manage her medications. This is just one example of the services and assistance that VNSNY CHOICE provides to help people with long-term care needs live safely at home.  

VNSNY CHOICE (http://2012.vnsnychoice.org/) understands how much your home and community mean to you. CHOICE has a variety of health plans to meet you needs:

• Designed for people with Medicare, VNSNY CHOICE Medicare offers three health plan options that include prescription drug, doctor and hospital coverage – plus EXTRA benefits that don’t cost extra. Find out which Medicare plan is best for you. You can call for a free information guide that can help you make the right choice: 1-866-583-7126.
• CHOICE Managed Long Term Care is a health plan designed for people who need help with day-to-day activities but want to remain in their homes. This health plan provides all the Medicaid long-term care and other health-related services you need to live well at home and in your community. For more information, call 1-855-AT-CHOICE (1-855-282-4642).

If you or a loved one needs long-term care and wants to stay at home in the community, VNSNY CHOICE may be right for you. Please call the above phone numbers for more information on how VNSNY CHOICE can help you live well at home.

My name is Neassa and I have been a Girl Scout since the 4th Grade. One of the parts of Girl Scouts that I have enjoyed the most is preparing for and visiting the wonderful seniors at VNSNY. Our troop became associated with VNSNY a few years back and we have spent our days off from school putting on shows, helping with bingo and running arts and crafts projects. I remember one of the first times we visited as a troop in the sixth grade, Nikki and I did a number from our school musical. Visiting the seniors at the center has always been fun for everyone in our troop and gives us a strong purpose.

I have just left New York and am living in Shanghai now. Being so far from home, one of the memories I will treasure are the times spent there with all those lovely seniors at VNSNY. In Shanghai,  retirees and elderly people spend lots of time in the parks and doing Tai Chi. Now as I watch the Shanghai elders step through their elegant slow moves, I have a different appreciation for how people grow old from my time working with VNSNY.  I will be starting my Gold project from China and haven’t figured it out yet, but I know that I will draw upon what I learned in our VNSNY projects. Thank you VNSNY for the volunteer opportunities.

I’m so glad that Neassa’s time at our center has changed her perspective on seniors. This is a great example of how intergenerational programs can have lasting effects on everyone involved!

Here’s some wishes and wisdom to start off your 2012 – enjoy!

• I was in the hospital for 6 months and I couldn’t walk when I was discharged.  I was so depressed after getting out of the hospital. I came back to the Day Center and you gave me a new outlook on life – I wish for health and happiness in 2012!
• I wish for those I love to live a long, healthy life.
• More understanding, respect and better hearts in the world
• I thought I was going to pasture, but I came here and I woke up!   Looking forward to more in 2012!
• More wisdom, health and strength
• More dancing in 2012!
• In spite of all the difficult things going on in my life, I hope to enjoy the center as much as I can in 2012!

Not only was the event deeply meaningful, but it also provided many therapeutic benefits, even if the seniors didn’t realize it during the activity. This special sing-a-long is a great example of how we bring music and reminiscence therapy, as well as eye-hand coordination and range of motion exercises into an event.

To start the activity, the Partners in Care chorus entered the room singing. This really helped to set a festive mood for our multi-cultural family of seniors. They led traditional Christmas carols in English, Spanish and Creole, as well as Hanukkah songs. The Partners in Care staff also expressed how meaningful it was for them to share the time with us.

After the activity, the seniors spoke from their hearts expressing their thanks for the Center, feeling like one big happy family, and acknowledging the special effort Partners in Care made to sing in different languages and share gifts from Santa. On behalf of the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, I want to extend a very sincere thank you for Partners in Care’s generosity last week and the exceptional care and service they give to us all year long!

At the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, December is party month and we keep the celebrations going through New Year’s Eve. In addition to 4 holiday parties and a New Year’s Eve celebration, we have a Chanukah party, and an annual sing-a-long/ Santa visit led by our friends at Partners in Care, the home healthcare agency that provides us with our exceptional Home Health Aides.

This year, 3 of Ms. E’s daughters joined us for our Chanukah party. As they left, they commented to me “now I understand why my mother likes to come here everyday. It’s so comforting to know that we can drop in unannounced and see how well everyone is treated.”

Mr. B. wrote a beautiful thank you note for our holiday party. Here’s an excerpt of what the party meant to him: “Queens is known for diversity and this all comes together at the VNSNY CHOICE Center in Woodside, where regardless of one’s background, we are always among friends and surrounded by love.  We’re celebrating the holidays with a year end round of parties.  It’s comforting and reassuring to know that we senior citizens have a haven which is a great source of happiness, good cheer and camaraderie for all.”

A comment by our Recreation Coordinator says it best, “it feels so good to touch people’s lives.”

Thank you for allowing me to share our special moments and give you tips to improve quality of life for seniors.   I hope you enjoy reading the VNSNY blog as much as we enjoy writing them.   Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy holiday!

At the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, we offer HT and we’ve seen it work wonders with our seniors. Many used to love gardening and now they don’t get an opportunity to participate in this activity, so we bring it to them. Jerry, our fantastic Horticulture Therapist, listens carefully to our members and creates HT programs to meet their needs. Each month, Jerry leads a new and unique gardening project related to the seasons, holidays and members’ interests.

In our dementia program, the members were discussing herbs, so Jerry incorporated them into an HT session. He grows herbs in his own garden and brought in clippings. He led sensory activities using the herbs, stimulating members through smelling, touching and planting. He also wove reminiscence therapy into the activity through discussions about how they used to grow and cook with herbs at home. Last week, Jerry led another successful program helping the seniors create beautiful winter holiday centerpieces for their homes.  Check out the festive picture – you really get a warm holiday feeling from his creative use of plants, ribbons and pine cones.

If you’re a caregiver and looking for stimulating activities to do at home with your loved one, give gardening a try — not only is the process fun and therapeutic, but after the project is over, they have something to take care of and nurture…

Ms. C. told me that she’s learned so much since coming here and she’s not giving up “this place.” As we talked, she spoke fondly of how she’s learned to make jewelry and play games. She talked about how the games, including dominoes and bingo, are good for her brain and she doesn’t want to lose that.

I’m so glad that our center has such meaning in our seniors’ lives, while at the same time being a place where they can learn new things. It inspires us to stay creative and keep them engaged to improve their quality of life!